Associate Directors Sister Margaret Rose Griesbaum and Sister Anne Rita Mauck
Rounding out a year of historic moments for the Associates, Sister Donna Kenney retired from her position as Associate Director and Sister Margaret Rose Griesbaum was named the second Associate Director in September 1980, in addition to continuing in her role as Novice Director.^[49] Sister Margaret Rose was destined to serve as Associate Director for only one year, as she left Nazareth for full time study at Fordham University in August of 1981.^[50] With Sister Margaret Rose’s departure, Sister Anne Rita Mauck became the third Director of the SCN Associates.^[51]

First Associates in India and Belize
During Sister Anne Rita’s time as Director, aided by the groundwork that had been laid by Sister Donna Kenney and Sister Margaret Rose, as well as the many others who believed strongly in the Associate relationship, the SCN Associates truly started to flourish. In January of 1982, an article in the SCN India News welcomed the first Indian Associate, Father Edmund “Pat” Rebeiro, SJ.^[52] His brother, Father Cyril “Tim” Rebeiro, SJ, would join him as the second Indian Associate in 1984.^[53] Fathers Pat and Tim worked closely with the SCNs in the Sokho mission and felt called by the SCN charism. Though India did not have a formal Associate formation process at that time, the brothers were considered SCN Associates by the SCNs and in their own Jesuit province.^[54]

At roughly the same time, the Associate relationship was taking root in Belize as well. Sister Mary Lynn Fields’ Ministers of the Word program drew many in Belize closer to the SCNs and she invited those in the group to consider becoming SCN Associates.^[55] By the fall of 1982, the first Belizean Associate, Philip Nicasio, was listed in the SCN Associate section of the SCN Directory.^[56] Philip was the uncle of Irene Locario, who entered the SCN novitiate in September of 1982. He remained a faithful SCN Associate until his death in 2009.

As the SCN Associate relationship began to take root in other countries, the foundations grew stronger in the United States. Sister Anne Rita Mauck reported 324 Associates with an additional thirty in the process of becoming an Associate. Two Associates had become SCNs. Eight congregations had reached out to the SCNs in as many months to inquire about the SCN Associate relationship with the goal of initiating a similar program of their own.^[57] The SCN Associates were growing in number and becoming a multi-faceted group. The need for greater direction and more explicit input from the Associates themselves was becoming more apparent every day. In April of 1982, the SCN Associate Core Council was established to serve as an advisory board to the Associate Director, assisting with the leadership and formulating objectives and policies as the Associate relationship became more structured.^[58]

Written by Kelly McDaniels, Archivist, SCNA
2022

A history this multifaceted could not have been wrangled into a coherent document without the help of many. I am immensely grateful to all of those who have assisted in any way. First and foremost, a huge thank you to Mary Martin, SCNA, for giving me a solid basis for what to include in this history and for painstakingly reviewing each and every draft. Thank you to Sister Maria Vincent Brocato for interviewing multiple SCN Associates as part of this project, to Sister Malini Manjaly, Archivist in Mokama, for helping me piece together the history of the Associates in India, and to Sister Nalini Meachariyil for helping me with the history of the Associates in Botswana. My thanks as well to Tammy Mattingly, SCNA and Administrative Assistant of the Associate Office, for answering a million and more questions; and to my many wonderful readers (listed below) who have helped with grammar, clarity, and adding a richness to this story that I could not have achieved on my own. Thank you to all of those who contributed their memories and beautiful stories from the past fifty years: Evelyn Faldowski, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Sister Paschal Maria Fernicola; Sister Barbara Flores; Sister Rhoda Kay Glunk; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Sister Beverly Hoffman; Donna Kenney; Sister Rosemarie Kirwan; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Trudi Maish, SCNA; Andy Meyer, SCNA; Jo Ann Paulin, SCNA; Peggy Masterson Ryan, SCNA; Sister Marilyn Shea; and many others who shared a story in passing. Finally, thank you to each and every person whom I have peppered with questions or who has listened to me obsess over this impossibly tangled history for the past several months.

Reviewed and proofread by: Maria Vincent Brocato, SCN; Sharon Cecil, SCNA; Mary Gene Frank, SCNA; Charlotte Hazas, SCNA; Josef Jareczek, Ph.D., best friend of the Archivist; Sister Marlene Lehmkuhl; Mary Martin, SCNA; and Sister Marilyn Shea.

Source: https://nazareth.org/

Note on sources: Sources used in this history can be located at the Nazareth Archival Center, SCN Center, or on the SCN Family website.

^[49] Margaret Rose Griesbaum. Permanent Record Card. SCN Archival Center; SCN Associate Office. History of the SCN Associate Relationship 1971-2019. (Powerpoint).

^[50] Ibid.

^[51] SCN News. Sep. 1981, Vol. X, No. 1, p. 15; General Assembly Report to the Executive Committee, SCN Government Collection, Assemblies/Chapters Box F, “1982 Reports” file.

^[52] “Province Welcomes First SCNA.” SCN India News. Jan.-Feb. 1982, p. 3.

^[53] “SCNA Programme in Province Being Activated.” Sandesh. 11 Apr. 1984, Vol. 2, No. 5, p. 6.

^[54] Manjaly, Malini. 29 Nov. 2021; Kotturan, Teresa, 6 Dec. 2021.

^[55] Wendeln, Elizabeth. Letter to Kelly A. McDaniels (email). 8 Jan. 2022.

^[56] SCN Directory. 1982-1983, p. 77.

^[57] Mauck, Anne Rita. “SCNA Director’s Report.” SCN News. May 1982, Vol. X, No. 9, pp. 19-20.

^[58] Mauck, Anne Rita. “Letter from Director.” SCN News. Mar. 1982, Vol. X, No. 7, p. 8; Mauck, Anne Rita. “SCNA Director’s Report.” SCN News. May 1982, Vol. X, No. 9, pp. 19-20.